The father of one of the "Babes in the Wood" murder victims has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting her before her death, sources said.

Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows Photo: PA

Barrie Fellows, 59, was arrested at his home in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, on suspicion of rape and conspiracy to rape his daughter, Nicola, who was murdered in 1986 when aged nine.

The schoolgirl and her friend Karen Hadaway, 10, were found strangled to death in Wild Park, Brighton.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said a 59-year-old man had been arrested in Cheshire along with a 44-year-old man in Brighton.

Sources named him as family friend Douglas Judd.

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said the investigation into sexual abuse allegations was unrelated to the ongoing murder inquiry.

She said: "A 59-year-old man has been arrested in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and a 44-year-old man has been arrested in Brighton on suspicion of sexual offences involving Nicola Fellows, one of the two victims of the Wild Park murders in 1986."

The investigation is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, of Sussex Police's Major Crime Branch.

No-one has ever been brought to justice for the killings of the two girls, which came to be known as the Babes in the Woods murders.

Labourer Russell Bishop, who knew both girls and their families and had helped in the search, was arrested two months after they were found together on October 10 1986.

He was charged with the murders but was acquitted after the prosecution admitted a series of errors in the presentation of forensic evidence at his trial in 1987.

He was jailed for life in 1991 for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl from Brighton but has always denied killing Karen and Nicola.

In 2002, in the light of plans to abolish the double jeopardy rule, which prevented suspects being tried twice for the same crime, Sussex Police announced that they were re-examining the case.

However the force later said that, despite the review, there was not enough evidence to mount a prosecution.

In April last year the double jeopardy rule was changed under the 2003 Criminal Justice Act. Legal history was made at the Old Bailey on Monday when William Dunlop, 43, admitted strangling Julie Hogg 15 years after he was cleared of her murder. In 2002, in the light of plans to abolish the double jeopardy rule which prevented suspects being tried twice for the same crime, Sussex Police announced they were re-examining the case. But despite reviewing all the available evidence, officers said there is not enough to mount a prosecution. Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo said: "In relation to the murders of Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, this remains an unsolved case for Sussex Police.”We have recently carried out an extensive review of all the available evidence and are satisfied that there is insufficient to meet the necessary evidential standard required to formally seek the opinion of the CPS in relation to any possible suspect(s). "As with any unsolved case we remain anxious for any further evidence and will regularly review what we have."

No one is in prison for the murders of these 2 girls and in view of the news about one of the girls fathers raping her he could have been the killer.